Update:
Wayne Chrebet has been placed on IR and will be replaced by
Kevin Swayne and possibly Jonathan Carter. Neither of those
have shown much this season.

Marvin Harrison is considered doubtful
to play with his hamstring strain. He claims it does not hurt
but the MRI has shown damage (though Grade 1 - minimal). I
am removing him from the projections as he currently represents
a big risk to even play as the Colts may give their star receiver
a week to heal. Troy Walters moves up in that case to take
Harrison's role.

This game takes a whole new flavor if Harrison cannot play,
but assuming that he does and yet is a little limited, the
Colts can still take a win by running James all game against
a soft rushing defense and keeping Pennington off the field.

NY Jets Notes

The Jets rise to 3-6 on the season and are still in the basement
of the AFC East.

Quarterbacks: Chad
Pennington followed up his 281 yard, four touchdown opener
against the Giants with a 269 yard, two score game against
the Raiders last week. One big difference - he had two interceptions
the first week and none last Sunday. Pennington is losing
the rust quickly.

Running backs: The Raiders
offered a poor rush defense and the Jets were able to abuse
it with Curtis Martin (19-61) and Lamont Jordan
(7-69) combining for a big day. Since Pennington has been
back, the Jets have been almost doubling their rushing yards.

Wide Receivers: Santana
Moss followed his big 121 yard, three touchdown game against
the Giants with a 146 yard, one score effort against the Raiders.
He led the league in receiving yards last week and with 474
yards and six touchdowns in the last four weeks, everyone
knows he is coming.

Wayne Chrebet is considered out again this week due
to a concussion but could change later in the week. Kevin
Swayne is now the #3 receiver which in New York does not
even promise a single catch.

Tight Ends: Anthony
Becht and occasionally Chris Baker make the odd
catch though Becht had a two pointer and score a touchdown
a few weeks ago.

Match against the defense:
The Colts rushing defense just seems to get worse each game
and while they allowed Fred Taylor 126 yards in week three,
they granted him 152 and two touchdowns last week in what
proved to be the winning margin for the Jaguars. Before that,
Domanick Davis had 109 yards and two scores. Before that Stephen
Davis and Deshaun Foster combined for 161 yards and a score.

While Curtis Martin may not be quite the back of old, with
Pennington throwing so well he could be close. The mixing
of Jordan and Martin was effective and should work against
a worsening run defense.

Most passers have not fared so well against the Colts because
the run has been doing so well. The Colts have given up at
least one passing score every week since week one so Pennington
should do at least average and could turn in one of the better
production days if Moss stays open and the Jets have to throw
to stay in the game.

Last week the Colts defense had no turnovers and no interceptions
from Leftwich, the first time ever for him as a starting quarterback
in the NFL.

Indianapolis Notes

The Colts come off a frustrating loss to the Panthers and
fall to 7-2 which ties them with the Titans in the AFC South.

Quarterbacks: Peyton
Manning had 347 yards passing and two touchdowns last
week but threw two interceptions and could not move the team
late when it was needed. With Marvin Harrison out of the equation,
the passing was not nearly as effective. In the final two
minutes, it was evident that Harrison was not there. Manning
is still the fantasy gem, but the team was not able to secure
a win when it needed to late in the game.

Running backs: Edgerrin
James only gained 44 yards on 15 carries last week. He
was not even on the field for the final two offensive series
and had only limited play in the second half. James was clearly
miffed this week that the coaches went more with Ricky Williams
later in the game because they felt Williams would do better
as a pass catcher.

Facing the 29th ranked rush defense should help Edgerrin's
feelings this week.

Wide Receivers: Marvin
Harrison only had one catch last week - a 30 yard touchdown,
and then left the game in the second quarter with a hamstring
strain. His status is still not known and I am assuming that
he will play this week but that could change. Reggie Wayne
only had six catches for 46 yards last week against the same
team he had burned for 141 yards and two scores back in week
three.

Troy Walters (5-73) has been a great #3 receiver and
has actually outproduced Wayne the past three weeks.

Tight Ends: Marcus
Pollard had three catches for 92 yards and one score to
lead all receivers last week and Dallas Clark finally
returned to the playing field and had two catches for 43 yards.
Pollard has been a solid receiver while Clark was out and
still shined even with Clark in the lineup.

Match against the defense:
Much depends on the presence of Harrison this week who changes
the focus of the defense.

It is easy to guess that Edgerrin James will be placated
with 20+ carries this week against a rush defense that has
been one of the worst and still misses DE John Abraham. James
only has two 100 yard games this season but should up it to
three after this week.

The Colts should be able to pass more as well since CB Ray
Mickens may be out and he was already covering for the injured
Donnie Abraham. Since he would matchup on Harrison, there
is a reason for Marvin to get better. Otherwise, Troy Walters
should take some benefit from it.

Team Comparisons - Current team
rankings (1-32) for FF points scored or allowed
by position